This November marks seven consecutive years behind bars for lawyer and human rights defender Hoda Abdel Moneim, a former member of Egypt’s National Council for Human Rights, since her arrest on November 1, 2018.
After years of reprisals, violations, and “rotation” (recycling of charges), November also brings the scheduling of the first hearing in her third trial on the same charges, in Case No. 800/2019 (Supreme State Security), set for December 16 before the Second Circuit of the Cairo Criminal Court at Badr Court Complex.
Hoda Abdel Moneim Abdel Aziz Hassan is a cassation lawyer, human rights activist, and former member of the National Council for Human Rights. She served on the board of the Egyptian Coordination for Rights and Freedoms and was active in several local and regional rights organizations. Known for her advocacy for prisoners of conscience in Egypt, she is one of the most prominent civil society figures calling for respect for human rights and the implementation of international treaties. She also served as a Member of Parliament in 2012.
Born on January 28, 1959, in Cairo, Hoda graduated from Ain Shams University Faculty of Law in 1982. She is married to lawyer Khaled Badawy and has four daughters. She represented Egypt at the International Human Rights Conference in Ireland and was a member of the Women’s Committee and the Civil and Political Rights Committee at the National Council for Human Rights. She played a key role in documenting enforced disappearances and other violations following the events of July 3, 2013. After those events, her work at the Council was suspended, and she was arbitrarily placed on travel ban lists.
On November 1, 2018, Hoda was arrested from her home in Cairo at age 59 and forcibly disappeared for 20 days at a National Security facility in Abbasiya. On November 21, she appeared before the Supreme State Security Prosecution in Case No. 1552/2018, facing charges of joining and financing a terrorist group and spreading false news. Her place of detention remained unknown for three months before she was transferred to Qanater Women’s Prison in 2019.
In November 2020, the European Bar Federation awarded Hoda its annual prize in recognition of her role in defending human rights. In March 2023, the Cairo Criminal Court (First Terrorism Circuit) sentenced her to five years in prison and five years of police probation, acquitted her of foreign funding charges, and ordered her inclusion on terrorist lists, along with the closure and blocking of the Egyptian Coordination for Rights and Freedoms website. She was transferred to Al-Ashir Min Ramadan Women’s Prison.
Throughout her detention, Hoda suffered severe violations, including prolonged solitary confinement, denial of visits, confiscation of personal belongings, and sleeping on the floor in winter with only light prison clothes. She was deliberately denied medical care and medication for chronic illnesses, suffered a heart attack requiring urgent catheterization, and experienced complete kidney failure. Despite her deteriorating health, she was denied adequate treatment.
On October 31, 2023, at the end of her original sentence, she was “rotated” into a new case (No. 730/2020) and placed in pretrial detention for 15 days on charges identical to those for which she had already served her sentence. In December 2024, she was rotated again into Case No. 800/2019, and on December 10, 2024, referred to trial for the third time on the same charges. This practice violates the principle of non bis in idem (no one should be punished twice for the same offense) under international law.
The UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders expressed concern in January 2025 over the use of “rotation” to prolong detention of activists, including Hoda Abdel Moneim, after completion of their sentences. In October 2025, her daughter submitted an appeal to the President for her immediate release due to her critical health condition. In November 2025, Hoda won the International Bar Association Human Rights Award for her outstanding contributions, which her daughter received on her behalf.
Committee for Justice reiterates its full solidarity with Hoda Abdel Moneim, who remains in detention despite completing her original sentence in October 2023 and now faces a third trial on identical charges. This constitutes a flagrant violation of the principle of non bis in idem, Article 54 of the Egyptian Constitution guaranteeing personal liberty, and Articles 9 and 14 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights prohibiting arbitrary detention and ensuring fair trial rights. The continued denial of medical care, enforced disappearance, solitary confinement, and rotation into new cases also breach the UN Convention Against Torture, the Nelson Mandela Rules, and the UN Basic Principles on the Role of Lawyers.
Committee for Justice calls for her immediate and unconditional release, urgent medical care, an end to the targeting of human rights defenders in Egypt, and an independent investigation into all violations committed against her.
Case Details
- Case No. 1552/2018 (Supreme State Security), registered as No. 1/2021 (Emergency State Security Criminal Court), and No. 703/2021 (New Cairo Criminal Court) – “Coordination Case.”
- Case No. 730/2020 (Supreme State Security).
- Case No. 800/2019 (Supreme State Security).
Places of Detention
- National Security headquarters in Abbasiya, Cairo.
- Qanater Women’s Prison.
- Al-Ashir Min Ramadan Women’s Prison.
Violations
- Enforced disappearance.
- Physical and psychological torture.
- Arbitrary deprivation of liberty.
- Poor detention conditions.
- Medical neglect.
- “Rotation” of detention (recycling of charges).
- Arbitrary pretrial detention.
- Trial before exceptional courts.
- Solitary confinement.
- Denial of family visits.
- Arbitrary inclusion on terrorist lists.
Charges
- Joining a banned group.
- Participating in a terrorist group with knowledge and promoting its purposes.
- Disseminating false news and statements.
- Misuse of social media platforms.
- Providing financial assistance to a terrorist group.
- Committing an act of terrorist financing.
